A new wrinkle was added to Gloucester County’s newest Thanksgiving football rivalry when Washington Township High School was upset by Southern in the opening round of the South Jersey Group V playoffs.

It made the Minutemen that much more determined to take down unbeaten Williamstown.

The Township seniors will be playing their final game this morning when they host the Braves now that their seven-game winning streak and playoff title hopes are over. But there’s still the chance to win a West Jersey League American Division title, and to be the first team this season to knock off the No. 2 team in the South Jersey Times Top 15 and No. 10 team in the latest Star-Ledger state rankings.

“We have one more game to redeem ourselves,” said Minutemen senior left guard Alex Schmidt. “Williamstown and Washington Township are always at each other, always want to win. It’s all about the bragging rights. That’s all we want, to be able to say we beat Williamstown. We have nothing to lose, they’re the ones who are unbeaten.

“The seniors realize this is the last time we’re going to strap up pads and have the word ‘Minutemen’ across our chest. We want to go out on a good note, and there’s nothing else like it.”

The emotion will definitely be present, with the Minutemen trying to salvage a season that got off to a painfully slow start but seemed to be headed for a memorable finish. A potential rematch was all but set with division rival Eastern — which handed Township its only loss opening weekend, 9-6 — but despite a school-record 363 passing yards from Tom Hildebrand the sixth-seeded Rams claimed a 33-32 win.

Washington Twp. sr. LG Alex Schmidt, Nov. 19, 2012The Minutemen two-year starter talks about bouncing back from a tough playoff loss to take on a rival that also happens to be one of the top teams in South Jersey and the state in his final high school game.

That leaves this game against the Braves as the sole focus left for this year’s team. Williamstown has won the first two meetings against the Minutemen since the WJFL was formed and the annual game secured, which seems to have only fanned the flames of the rivalry.

“You try and be as intense as possible for every game, but when you’re playing Williamstown on Thanksgiving ... you get really excited for that game,” senior linebacker and three-year starter Joe Cotton said. “When I was a sophomore ... I remember looking at the schedule and thinking, we’re home this year, away next year. Yes, senior year that’s going to be a home game.

“They’re certainly motivated,” said Township head coach Mark Wechter. “Williamstown (is motivated too), they’re looking at an undefeated season, outright ownership of the conference, crosstown rivalry game.... This isn’t only an important game for us.

“The rivalry’s definitely there. The kids talk about it, it’s something they look forward to at the beginning of the season.”

Williamstown sr. LB/DE Marcus Riley, Nov. 19, 2012After transferring from Paul VI, the Braves senior talks about experiencing the rivalry for the first time last year and how to keep the team's perfect season alive against a rival with nothing to lose.

As Wechter noted, the game certainly carries plenty of meaning for the Braves as well. A division title would be their second straight, and downing Township would tie the program record of 10 wins set in 1999. They’ll certainly be favored, especially coming off a dominating 41-6 win over Millville in their Group V opener for only their second playoff win ever.

But a big secret to the team’s success has been treating each opponent equally and not getting too high over any one game. It worked against Timber Creek in a huge late September matchup, and Williamstown is trying to treat this game the same way in practice.

“It’s just another football game,” Braves senior linebacker Mike Anderson said. “We’ve just got to come out and play hard. We’ll definitely be more confident (after Friday’s game), we’ll come out playing harder than ever.”

But at the same time the rivalry can’t be ignored, even if you’re not a veteran of the game ... or even from the area. And when the teams take to the turf this morning, past losses and future dreams will be all but forgotten as the rivals duke it out in the present.

“Everybody’s amped to play the rivalry,” said Williamstown senior defensive end Julian Taylor, a transfer this year from Pennsylvania. “We’re doing really good, and I don’t want to just throw that in the trash by losing to Township.”

“It’s a tremendous rivalry, a lot of the kids know each other,” head coach Frank Fucetola said. “Both coaching staffs respect each other. I know one thing, the Braves are going to be ready to play. ... They’re going to come out fired up. We’re on a mission.”